Strangers Like Me
by Ellie Marsy
Summary: Five days after they first meet, Alice tells Jasper about their future family.


Author's Note: There are so many stories where Jasper joins the Cullens only for Alice. I thought maybe it's time that Jasper wanted to join the Cullens himself. Read and Review! I hope you like my next try at Alice and Jasper fluff!

Jasper watched her skip through the trees. Sunlight danced delicately on her skin, casting an array of sparkles in his direction. He looked at the shine of his own skin, which paled in comparison to hers as it was marred by his many battle scars. He looked up at the sound of Alice's tinkling laugh. She was perched on a tree branch above him, looking down at him with amusement. The happiness which followed her was intoxicating, almost addicting to him.

"Why do you keep smiling?" he asked, a smile forming on his own face.

"Because I'm really happy," her smile was dazzling, blocking out the brightness of the sun. "You're smiling, too."

Jasper looked down and laughed shyly. He had only been with this woman for a few days, and all they had done was talk nonstop to each other. He wanted to know everything about her life, both vampire and human. He didn't care what his survival instincts told him to do.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd be blushing," she jumped down from the tree branch and landed gracefully next to him. She looked at him with a smug smile.

"Tell me about them. The Cullens. Tell me about the life you see with them."

Her features softened and they started to walk together, merely basking in each others' presence. "Well first, there's Carlisle. He's a very kind and compassionate man. He's a doctor."

Jasper felt the shock hit him so hard he gasped slightly. "A doctor? How can that be?"

"Carlisle's never tasted human blood. Well, he's never fed on a human, at least. He brought to his vampire life the caring he shared in his human life. He's an amazing and great man. He's the father and the mentor of the family. He will show you much kindness, Jasper, and he'll take to you almost immediately."

Jasper nodded thoughtfully. It went against everything he knew about being a vampire to be in the presence of a bleeding human and resist the thirst. He couldn't imagine how someone like Carlisle could exist, moreover how the man could show compassion for someone like him.

"Then there's Esme. She's sweet and beautiful. She's the mother of the family. She's always concerned for them when they're in pain. She's somebody who's really hard not to love right away. Emmett, on the other hand, is a big brutish troll with horrible fangs and big, ugly warts."

He stared at her for a while. Her face and emotions were serious and she showed no signs that she was joking. Right as he was about to speak, she burst into laughter. He watched her incredulously and broke into laughter as well. He had never heard a more beautiful sound than her laughter. Everything about her made Jasper happy- her lips, her hair, her skin, her walk, and especially her smile.

"He'll become your friend, your gambling partner, and wrestling buddy," she gasped in between breaths.

"Gambling partner, interesting," he chuckled.

"Then there's Rosalie. She's gorgeous, pretty much someone any woman would want to be. She can be a little mean and cold. I see her becoming my best friend... Oh and by the way, she'll be your twin."

"I'll have a twin?"

"It'll only be a cover story for humans, but you'll both develop a real twin bond anyway. Edward's the youngest. He's a mind reader. He'll be the one who'll understand you the most. He'll know your thoughts and everything that's happened to you."

Jasper clenched his fist. He often wondered what his life would look like from the outside. His physical appearance was already enough to have any vampire on edge. What more for one who would know his thoughts as well?

As if Alice heard him, she stopped walking and touched his arm. "I also see him becoming a very good friend to you. He'll understand your thoughts and share your pain," Jasper dropped his gaze to the ground. "And," she lifted his chin up to face her. "I see him as one of your best men."

"What?"

Alice giggled and continued to skip along the path. He blindly followed her, bewildered yet entranced at her behavior. He watched her prance gracefully, walking in and out of the sunlight making her look like a twinkling star. She caught him watching her and smiled. He felt the need to be close to her. It wasn't something he could even explain. He suddenly caught sight of her golden eyes. Aside of his scars, they were alike in appearance; the pale skin and inhuman features, and something about her made him feel as if her past was not as happy as it seemed. It was their eyes that set them apart. His were a deep and dark crimson. He had already gone so long without feeding, yet he found that the thirst wasn't as painful as it usually was. It was Alice whom he was suddenly feeding off from. Her emotions were like nothing he had ever encountered before. He had never known any kind of happiness before and Alice introduced it to him. He felt as if he entered an entirely different world.

He thought of her eyes and of the Cullens. He thought of five vampires sharing so much in common with him except his eyes. Would it be worth it changing his lifestyle for this family?

As if she had heard his thoughts again, she walked toward him. "Jasper, I want to make it clear that I'm not in any way going to force you to go to the Cullens. If you just want to live life as a nomad... then I'm not stopping you. We'll live however you want."

He was taken aback by her answer. She had said 'we'. She wasn't going to leave him just as he wasn't going to leave her.

"It will be hard... Adjusting to the lifestyle. Adjusting to feeding on animals."

"How do you know they'll accept me?"

"At first they'll be strangers to you... But in time, if you're willing to try, they will be your family."

Jasper thought of his life with Maria. There was no family, no love.

"I'm not sure I know what having family is like."

Alice smiled sadly. "Neither do I."

Jasper suddenly felt overprotective as he felt the sadness welling up within her. It wasn't right for Alice to be sad. Before they found each other, they had both been alone in the world. He remembered the hope and the longing she felt when she talked about the Cullens and realized that he shared it. Her sadness was also his and her longing was his as well. He didn't want to be alone in the world.

He took her small and delicate hand in his strong and scarred one. "I wanna know."

She smiled. "Then come with me."

He leaned in closer to her. "I'll go anywhere with you," Before he knew what he was doing, his lips met hers in a soft kiss. He pulled back and looked into her face. She opened her eyes slowly.

She leapt into the air and ran through the trees, laughing. He laughed with her as he chased after her. At that moment, Jasper knew that his life had just changed forever.


End file.
